New visitors to this website might wonder whether it contains reliable information, or “apostasy”

I am occasionally asked by visitors to JWsurvey.org what my personal religious beliefs are, particularly since my articles are often critical of the Watch Tower Society. Jehovah’s Witnesses are understandably concerned as to whether the information they read online is accurate. They are particularly wary of visiting so-called “apostate” websites due to the Society’s repeated counsel in this regard.

I thought I would write a brief article explaining my current spiritual outlook, with the aim of clarifying the approach and tone of this website for any newcomers who are curious. I am hopeful that this will go some way to reassuring visitors to JWsurvey.org that my motives in running it are genuine.

One accusation I sometimes hear levelled against this website is that it is “apostate” in nature. The terms “apostate” and “apostasy” have come to be loathed and feared by Jehovah’s Witnesses who read Watchtower literature. Witnesses generally associate those words with anyone who contradicts the Society’s official teachings. But is this an accurate view of what “apostasy” really means?

What is an “apostate”?

The word “apostate” basically has three definitions depending on your outlook. There is (1) the Bible’s definition of an apostate, (2) the Watch Tower Society’s definition, and finally there is (3) the secular (or dictionary) definition. There are subtle differences between all three definitions.

The Bible’s Definition

The Bible’s definition of apostasy is summarized for us on page 126 of the book Insight On The Scriptures (Volume 1), where the opening paragraph under the heading “Apostasy” reads as follows:

“This term in Greek (a·po·sta·si′a) comes from the verb a·phi′ste·mi, literally meaning ‘stand away from.’ The noun has the sense of ‘desertion, abandonment or rebellion.’ (Ac 21:21, ftn) In classical Greek the noun was used to refer to political defection, and the verb is evidently employed in this sense at Acts 5:37, concerning Judas the Galilean who ‘drew off’ (a·pe′ste·se, form of a·phi′ste·mi) followers. The Greek Septuagint uses the term at Genesis 14:4 with reference to such a rebellion. However, in the Christian Greek Scriptures it is used primarily with regard to religious defection; a withdrawal or abandonment of the true cause, worship, and service of God, and hence an abandonment of what one has previously professed and a total desertion of principles or faith. The religious leaders of Jerusalem charged Paul with such an apostasy against the Mosaic Law.”

And so, at least according to the Insight book, the Bible refers to “apostasy” as a “withdrawal or abandonment of the true cause, worship, and service of God”. Specifically, there are connotations about apostates drawing off followers after themselves, which I will address later in this article – but the basic meaning is a rejection of true faith in God.

If this was the only definition by which someone accused of apostasy would be judged, it would be relatively simple to determine whether the person was guilty or innocent. If the person’s beliefs about God contradicted what is contained in the scriptures, then he would be classed as an “apostate”.

The Society’s Definition

The Watch Tower Society has a slightly more specific idea as to what “apostasy” means. To find it (in a way that is expressed in clear terms), we must consult a letter that was sent out to all Circuit and District Overseers, dated September 1st, 1980. One paragraph in the letter reads as follows:

Notice how the Society’s definition of “apostasy” (or “apostatizing”) differs substantially from the basic biblical definition in two key areas:

An apostate is not just someone who “promotes” apostate views (i.e. by trying to “draw off followers” after themselves) – he is someone who believes things that run contrary to the “faithful and discreet slave”.

An apostate is not just someone who disagrees with what the Bible teaches about God – he is someone who rejects “what he has been provided through the slave class”.

Just thinking differently to any of the Governing Body’s teachings is enough to be an “apostate”

Hence, the Watchtower’s view of apostasy is different, and more specific, than the Bible’s definition. To be an apostate, all you need to do is view things differently to the “faithful and discreet slave” (now identified as the Governing Body). Period. It doesn’t even matter whether you go to strenuous efforts to promote or convince others of your beliefs. You simply have to view Bible teachings differently to how they are expressed in Watchtower publications, and you are automatically considered an “apostate”, worthy of disfellowshipping.

It is for this reason that many are disfellowshipped for apostasy even if they go to strenuous efforts during their judicial committee to demonstrate that their beliefs do not contradict what is written in the Bible. In the minds of elders who stick to the Society’s guidelines, it is irrelevant whether your beliefs can be backed up by the scriptures. What matters most is that you agree with the Governing Body and everything that it teaches. If you don’t, you are an “apostate” according to the Society’s definition of that term.

The Secular Definition

The secular (or dictionary) definition of apostasy is very succinct and easy to understand. The Oxford Dictionary that I keep on my desk simply describes the word as follows:

And so, from a purely secular context, apostasy is simply an abandonment or rejection of one’s former religious beliefs. Nothing more, nothing less. In this strict context, Christianity can be considered as an “apostasy” from Judaism (which clings to the Mosaic law covenant and awaits the arrival of the Messiah). The early Bible Students (who later became Jehovah’s Witnesses) could be considered as “apostates” from Christendom – because, rightly or wrongly, they rejected many traditional beliefs of mainstream Christianity.

Every time the Governing Body presents a “new understanding”, it apostatizes from the organization’s former teachings

If you want to apply the secular definition at a minute level, you could even say that each time a new belief or understanding is published that replaces a former teaching (as with the “new light” about the faithful and discreet slave) this represents an “apostasy” from the former teachings of the organization. Conversely, if a Jehovah’s Witness refused to accept a “new understanding” as published in the organization’s literature, preferring instead to cling to the former teachings on the matter, he would be disfellowshipped for apostasy – for abandoning the new beliefs of his religion.

A matter of perspective

This is the strange irony about apostasy – it is all a matter of perspective. For example, Charles Taze Russell and Joseph Rutherford are regarded as being among the founders of our organization. However, if they were miraculously resurrected and materialized in the lobby of the World Headquarters in Brooklyn, they would not be immediately embraced into the organization with seats on the Governing Body because their beliefs would be very different from the beliefs expressed in Watchtower literature today.

Both these men would need to have bible studies to educate them about the various changes in understanding over the many decades since they both died. If, after studying all these changes, they refused to accept the version of “truth” currently published in Watchtower literature, they would be unceremoniously disfellowshipped and cast out of the very organization they helped to establish. It is a strange and perplexing irony, but this is essentially what would happen in such an albeit impossible scenario.

So, to summarize all three definitions of apostasy, these are:

The Bible’s definition: abandoning the true faith in God.

The Watch Tower Society’s definition: abandoning the teachings of the Faithful Slave.

The secular definition: abandoning one’s former beliefs.

Now that we have considered all three definitions of “apostasy”, we can address the title of this thread and answer the question: Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?

According to the Bible’s definition, no it isn’t an apostate website. JWsurvey.org does not encourage anyone to abandon their faith in God according to the Bible. In fact, each of my articles dealing with scriptural matters attempt to use scriptural reasoning. They establish what the Bible says, and show how this differs from the teachings or practices of the Watch Tower Society. If anyone can identify anything in any of these articles that contradicts or misrepresents what is said in the Bible itself (and not just according to the Watchtower’s interpretation of the scriptures), they are welcome to email me and I will immediately correct the article accordingly.

According to the Watch Tower Society’s definition, yes it is an apostate website – because I very much disagree with (or have abandoned) some of the key teachings and practices of the Watchtower organization. In particular, I find the cruel shunning of disfellowshipped family members unloving and unscriptural, and I find the mishandling of accusations of child abuse according to a misapplication of the “two witness” rule despicable and negligent in the extreme. I also see no objective evidence to suggest that the Watch Tower Society enjoys any special divine favor or guidance that would justify its harsh and authoritarian approach towards Witnesses who disagree with the Governing Body.

According to the secular definition – yes it is an apostate website, because (for the reasons discussed above) I am no longer in agreement with all of the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses as defined in the publications of the Watch Tower Society. However, as I have explained, according to the strict dictionary definition of the term “apostasy”, the Watch Tower Society can be said to have apostatized from Christianity, and even from its own former teachings (every time it releases a “new understanding”).

I hope the above consideration of the various definitions of “apostasy” clarifies things for visitors to this website. Basically, if you are the type of person who will blindly follow the Watch Tower Society simply because theyclaim to be God’s sole channel of communication with mankind, then this website probably isn’t for you.

If, on the other hand, you are interested in the real truth and wish to research factual information about the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower organization, then you have no reason to fear or be distrustful of the information presented on these web pages. My articles are written and prepared with a whole-hearted committment to revealing truth, regardless of whether this conflicts with what has been published in Watchtower literature.

Even having considered the above, you may still be curious about my personal beliefs and motivations, and how these might influence my writing. I will now try my best to elaborate on these honestly.

So, what does Cedars believe?

As far as my status with Jehovah’s Witnesses is concerned, I am still technically one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. To date, I have not been disfellowshipped, neither have I disassociated myself in writing. However, I no longer attend meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I no longer participate in the preaching work. In that respect, I am considered by my local elders as an “inactive” one. They are obviously unaware of my work on this website and elsewhere. I have a fairly unique set of circumstances making it difficult for them to pry into my affairs or investigate my personal views.

As far as my religious beliefs are concerned, I have only recently (in the past two years) mentally escaped the iron-like grip of what I perceive to be an extremely controlling religious organization. I am therefore extremely reticent to plunge into yet another belief system (or set of religious or atheistic assumptions) that could be mistaken, or based purely on faith in things that cannot be proven or verified.

I don’t believe a God of love would punish someone for having genuine doubts about his word

I still have a respect for the Bible, which is why I often refer to it and cite scriptures in my articles. However, I am completely open-minded as to what God’s purpose for mankind might be – or even whether there is a God who is interested in Earth’s affairs at all.

If this shocks or stumbles anyone, I can only apologize – but I feel it is important to be honest. I personally believe that the reasons for any doubts I have are well founded (being the product of careful thought and research), and a loving “God of truth” would not punish me for asking the honest questions I ask. (Psalm 31:5; 1 John 4:8)

As an example of just one of these “doubts”, you can read an article I wrote for another website discussing the first three chapters of Genesis – although this is just one part of the Bible that causes me to ponder.

Regardless of my personal questions related to the Bible, I still feel qualified to comment about the Watch Tower Society and the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses from a scriptural standpoint because, as a former elder and Bible School graduate, I have a relatively in-depth understanding of the scriptures and Watchtower theology. I am also still technically a Jehovah’s Witness, although admittedly I only remain one because many of my family are Witnesses, and these would shun me if I ever disassociated myself.

Irrespective of my own personal beliefs or “doubts” about certain passages of scripture, I am profoundly affected in a very negative way by the organization, which has mentally trapped multiple generations of my family. I therefore feel a certain duty to use my knowledge and experience to help others awaken from what I perceive to be a damaging and destructive belief system. This is the only way I can think of to find a productive application for my negative experiences.

Drawing off followers?

If, even after reading the above, you feel that my personal doubts about the scriptures make it inappropriate or wrong for me to comment on the Bible or Watchtower teachings, you should be reassured of one thing: I can never rightly be accused of trying to “draw off followers” after myself, because I do not have a set of beliefs to promote, and I am strongly opposed to anyone who tries to impose their own unproven beliefs on those who leave the Watchtower organization.

Some YouTube videos that are critical of the Watch Tower Society are merely trying to “draw off followers” by promoting their own alternative interpretations of scripture

For example, there are many videos on YouTube that have been produced by those who oppose the teachings of the Watch Tower Society, and you will often find that some of these videos have been made by those who seek to replace Watchtower doctrines with their own interpretation of the Bible.

I can understand why, if you genuinely feel you have a correct understanding of the Bible, you might want to convince others of this (especially if you feel that salvation by Christ is at stake). However, by specifically targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses and trying to pull them out of a damaging cult and into your own alternative belief system, you are merely living up to the Watchtower’s definition and stereotype of an apostate – namely, by “drawing off followers” after yourself.

Ultimately, it is impossible for any of us to be assertive about any particular interpretation of the Bible – especially in such a way as to imply that only WE have the one true faith, and only WE enjoy God’s direction and blessing.

The one Church claiming to have a direct unbroken line throughout history with Christ’s apostles (through “apostolic succession”) is the Catholic Church. Not only is the history of Roman Catholicism riddled with scandal – their beliefs are based on unscriptural teachings and traditions. Those who choose to become Catholics in spite of this (as many millions do) must make this personal choice in the knowledge that it is a matter of faith. Any Christian organization or church claiming to have replaced or supplanted the Catholic Church as enjoying God’s divine favor is ALSO asking its followers to accept their claims based on faith rather than hard facts.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t be Christians or observers of the Bible command to preach and share one’s beliefs with others. After all, preaching is a key element of any Christian’s faith. However, I believe modern Christians should humbly be mindful of the fact that nearly two thousand years have passed since Christ’s death, and nineteen centuries have passed since the last of his apostles died without any obvious and indisputable acts of God to provide irrefutable evidence of his purpose, or his backing of any individual or group of worshippers.

It is therefore inappropriate for any Christian to dogmatically insist that HE has the only true faith based on the Bible, and that to enjoy salvation everyone must follow HIS interpretation of the Bible, and no one else’s.

It would obviously be different if God were to dramatically intervene in Earth’s affairs and make his purposes irrefutably clear to the masses – but until this happens we are all in the same state of relative uncertainty as to God’s purpose, and we shouldn’t insist on beliefs that are based purely on personal interpretation, or faith in things that cannot be proven or verified.

For this reason, you will never find any attempt made on this website to “draw off followers” or persuade visitors to enter some alternative belief system, whether it is religious or atheistic. Those who try to do this using the comments beneath each article will find their comment removed, especially any links that are posted to websites of a blatantly religious nature.

Like a Himalayan Sherpa, this website will not tell you where to go next or what to believe. It is only trying to get you to safety.

I view it as my role, or the role of this website, to report on verifiable facts and nothing else. If I have any higher role or ambition, this is merely to lead people out of what I perceive as an extremely damaging cult, just as a Himalayan Sherpa would lead a mountaineer down from a perilous mountain slope to safety. What the mountaineer does once he has reached safety is his own decision. He and his Sherpa will part ways – hopefully as friends. This is all I am interested in doing – leading you to the facts, and (if possible) helping you to gain mental freedom from a controlling organization. What you do next is your decision, and no one else’s.

If you are a Christian, and you struggle with feelings of uncertainty regarding what to do next after leaving the organization, you may find one of my past articles helpful. I wrote it not long after experiencing my own “awakening”. It is called “Lord, whom shall we go away to?“

A translation of the above article into Hungarian is available by clicking here.

81 Responses to Is JWsurvey.org an apostate website?

Hi Zeebo,
As understandable your mirth and irony is, your description fits exactly the impression that the WTS openly gives of itself! That’s one of the things we are fussing about. The truth is only Jesus is our Lord and all glory be to his Father in heaven. Respect to earthly worshipers, yes; adoration – no!

But you have to admit at least the governing body make baldness sexy. They are like bruce willis! ambassadors for baldness or hairloss. Also if you’re a pretty average guy with no money, you can become a JW, work hard and become an Elder and get hot women. Its an alternative to the rich ugly guy route (for those not rich), powerful ugly guy route! If i was 20 years older and single i would be the most autocratic elder you can imagine. Listen to my voice!! Thats GOD’s words in my mouth.. I’m the channel.. feel the power!!! aaahhhh YOUR DARE QUESTION MEEEEE???

Erm, not really. Sanderson is the only GB member with hair loss problems with the good sense to shave his head. Lett, Splane and Jackson (AKA the “comb-over crew”) have all opted for arguably the most embarrassing and conspicuous means of “disguising” their issues. Herd doesn’t have much of a choice, since he doesn’t have hair suited to comb-overs. Taken as a whole, they are a bad example to men when it comes to dealing with hair loss.

I know 🙂 they are so bad that its good! I mean they are God’s chosen crew, so if they have comb-overs it must be God’s appointed method to deal with the horrors of MPB. So they give hope to the millions by showing that God approves and indeed dresses his channel with comb-overs! Maybe in the new system we will all have comb-overs by default.

I just love this comment, it was a real laugh out loud moment, but mirth aside I was raised a JW and I am an ‘apostate’ bu the dictionary definition and I am disfellowshipped and ‘shunned’ by my family – I don’t have the inclination to argue scripturally with them as I feel it is their decision to lead their lives as they see fit but I agree wholeheartedly with your comment that this practice is “unloving and unscriptural” I am staggered that this simple premise is not grasped by seemingly intelligent and well intentioned people.

Thank you for ur writings. They have provided me support as I struggle with many of the issues you discuss. This posting of urs is however some 3 years old. Are you still a member? Or now disfellowshipped or resigned? Best regards D

Thanks so much for this site. There was nothing for us who left and then were disfellowshipped after leaving when I left the organization. I was told when I was 15 that I had to be baptized. The elders worked on me for months to make sure I was baptized at the next convention. I was and when I was 18 I wanted out. As soon as I could, I stopped going to meetings because I just couldn’t believe half of what we were being told was the truth. The only was I could leave was to be disfellowshipped so I was. I was 22 when I was disfellowshipped. I am 55 now and still shunned by my family and everyone who knew me growing up. After this time, I believe it’s their loss, not mine, but it is a cruel thing to do to people and to families and definitely NOT Christian. Jesus came to save sinners, not to make them part of the ruling class of religious leaders who insisted on making a show of their faith instead of actually living it.

The word apostate is part of their “spiritual warfare.” It’s a slur that’s used to create fear and loathing, the “us versus them” mentality. Those who have left are not just innocent people with questions or those who object to child molestation, domestic violence and its endorsement, and the shunning of rape victims; they’re diseased, they’re devious, and their sole purpose is to trick you into leaving the JW. If they can create that fear and loathing with a horrific label, you’re more likely to avoid them or immediately dismiss anything they say.

Your articles and the comments above gave me goose bumps. I am not good in speaking English and I am just 15 so I hope you’d understand what I wanted to say. I never thought someone would have the guts to make a website like this and that many would agree with you. By questioning what he bible says, you are now an apostate. I am not yet one but I do believe with Jehovah’s Witnesses teachings because I, myself, have read it in the bible. I’ve never seen them teaching without letting you see it in the bible. I think you better read the bible further, so you would know what the truth is. Cedar, I hope you could think about this, please, because you have Jehovah’s name with you for calling yourself a Jehovah’s Witness. I’ll pray for you. Don’t be blinded by YOUR OWN knowledge. We are human, we are not perfect. So let Him guide you.
“I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” -Jeremiah 10:23

An excellent summary. Perhaps you might well describe yourself as a Deist. Years ago when I was a college student, I believed that I was probably a Deist and completely abandoned any pretext at belonging to any “mainstream” Christian organization. (I was raised a traditional (Calvinist) Congregationalist. Currently my wife is a “re-joined” JW and I have studied with an elder although discontinued when it became obvious that the literature was intending to convert me to their way of believing. Since I had NO overt religion and desired none, I dropped out of the studies although I still read and study the Bible and the JW’s in general. As I believed in college that I was more likely a Deist, and then largely forgot about it, now with the added impetus of my wife’s re-establishing herself as a publisher, I am thinking more and more that I probably AM a Deist.

I’m active Witness from southeast Asian nation. I’m agree with you, that the real apostate is not believe that different with what someone teaching, but believe that different with what Bible teaching. We cannot judge people an apostacy just because he/she believe something different with our believe.

Especially, we cannot judge someone as an apostacy, just based on teaching that are just speculation or interpretation (like 1914’s teaching, etc).

If I am an apostate, am a double apostate because before I answered the knock on the door I was a Methodist!
So they too would be entitled to regard me as apostate! However, since I started fading from .org, I have started attending the occasional coffee morning organised by the Methodists! I have been very open with them and found them very welcoming, despite the fact I gave no intention of returning to their church either

Be aware of JWsurvey.org….!!
Please see Jehovah’s witness to clarify what you read from here!!! Judas was among apostles but quieted to gain 30 pieces!! What we believe since 1914 and before are all public under http://www.jw.org…. Just to type on search bar and prove on your own time!!

Thanks for being curious when you search for a true GOD JEHOVAH and his NARROW GATE TODAY (PSALM 83:18, MATHEW 7:13–16). <3 (Y)

But be careful if you have children cause they protect child molesters…. or watch out if you wear tight pants, or want to think for yourself, or want to have a mind of your own…or want to read anything other that WTBTS literature or worse, have the audacity to actually question the beliefs that are shoved down your throat

Hi Cedars,
Been following your comments for a few years and cudos to you.
I am 66 yo and have been a ‘dub’ since 4 yo. Baptized at 12 in 1959 and an ‘elder’ at 25 back in 1972. Have always had doubts about dates and symbolic vs literal numbers and of course the WTBTS wild interpretations of Revelations and Ezekiel. Have pretty much left the org. for past 5 years after decades of struggle with what I now know was cognitive dissonance. Staying under the ‘radar’ until my family sees ttatt. Wife and 4 children and 5 grandchildren are still in but I know that they see me and are starting to doubt also.
Your Bro,
eye-use-2-b-a-dub

New understanding? lol They have not had any new understanding for years now, all the governing body been doing is to print new releases with the same thoughts over and over again. The God has no such a think as a Governing body, Jehovah or Yahweh does not need a imperfect organisation to represent him. He talk to the world through the bible and only the Bible. The Governing Body is controlled by satan and his demons. Its all written in the prophecies. The JW and Bethel will soon fall apart and the entire world will know they were just controlling and badly treating people. Now If you don’t believe me, see why the body Elders etc..are so jumpy as soon as anyone stand up to them. If you want talk to Jehovah and he will tell you that the organisation is all fake. We don’t need the watchtower …just Jesus who is directing his angels to help the ones in the organisation to get out for the final cleansing of Gods Temple. Yes he is the true God but they are not his representative. The Pharisees were doing the same with their doctrines…flee from this cult and stay close to Jehovah and Jesus..they are busy The end of JW is all in the bible..don’t be fulled

You have done the right thing. The Governing Body is fake and it has been for years now. The JW have the basics of true faith. Yes they introduced us to the true God Jehovah but no they are not representing Jehovah But the Demons and Satan. Your family will get out too if they are close enough to Jehovah, he will get them out. No one on earth needs to be in any Adamic sinful organisation to be accepted by God and Christ Jesus. Its all about the heart..yes the heart that is how Jesus will come and cleans Gods house. God has no organisation Brother just the Bible and prayer we have to stay close to him. Now I have experience things as a XJW…That makes me talk this way…The closer you are to Jehovah then you will start having doubts..it all part of the prophecies brother

All we need to exposes them. We should not stop believing in Jehovah but stay close to him by just refusing to read their articles, books etc. What is happening now is all written in the scriptures…Soon the world will know that it was a doctrine created by men not God. Stay close to God bro that is were are strength is

Excellent, I agree with every word you wrote. I continue to be amazed by the humble, clear and concise way you express yourself. If only I had just a little of your talent.
You are providing a comfortable, non threatening place for JW’s, ex-JWs, interested persons and others dealing with cultish religion.

In the bible their is a story were some men were preaching and casting out demons in the name of jesus yet did not belong to the apostle or close by group of jesus.

The apostles said teacher go forbid them to do this! Jesus said no leave them alone because if they are not against you they are for you. And no one can do work in my name and soon speak evil..

That tells you plainly that not every person who preaches outside of the w.b.t.s. is an apostate. This may be an honest god loveing person who read his own bible and decided to obey it.

An apostate is someone who declares that the way of jesus and the bible is wrong and points people toward a belief or person that does not want to honor god the bible jesus and is hostile toward them!

I don’t agree that an apostate is a person that went to the kingdom hall studied and then decided that he or she could not follow that path and politely left.

That’s not always an apostate! Maybe that person suffered physical or mental cruelty from some member that posed as a Christian and found a victim. Maybe the person simply prefers bible only church and goes out to preach the bible gospel on a Saturday or Sunday.

My point is simple saying that a person is an apostate is saying that that person belongs to Satan! Be very careful about judging because judges get judged! Maybe your church rules say don’t associate with people who believe different than you.

OK do obey those rules but say we don’t associate with outsiders so that we may be peaceable and not argue doctrine! Not your of the devil because you won’t join my church
Or help place my church’s literature!

Well, first of all, I appreciate that you can be so caring to concern the safety of others. If JWs are crazy about preaching their belief, no matter it’s good or bad, you are crazy too. You are nuts for being an anti-JW and they’re nuts for being JWs. And this is your “belief”, I think. Allow me to call it anti-Jehovah’s Witnessm or whatever.

I’m not anti-Jehovah’s Witness at all. I’m anti-Watchtower. Do I really need to explain the difference between the two? If anything I am more interested in the welfare of Jehovah’s Witnesses than your dear leaders, the Governing Body, because I at least give them an opportunity to express themselves honestly on our Global Survey. The Governing Body, on the other hand, seemingly couldn’t care less about the problems or concerns of ordinary rank and file Witnesses.

Hala if anyone is nuts here it is you. The reason Cedars and other ex JWs speak out against the Watchtower is because they have damaged so many people’s lives and continue doing so to this day. Many of us have families trapped in the religion, so clearly we have an interest to help them free themselves from it. If we did not care we would keep quiet but today there are many, many websites and blogs where JWs and others can read about the secrets of the Watchtower and the things they would rather were kept quiet.

Hello I enjoy your website and did read what you said.. excuse my ignorance please but am just curious. If you no longer believe in the Truth and have your own doubts as you say then why do you not stick up for what you believe in now? Is it fear of man only that you won’t leave? Thanks xo

Your posting above, I believe is right on the money , I am considered an apostate because I did not continue in accepting all of the teachings . It dawned on me one Sunday when I heard that thing about the 5 fingers of one hand and we have a meeting for each of our fingers, after hearing this for a few years , I go like what am I doing listening to grown men actually saying this . So I go like, I need to step back a bit and really look at my religion here . So I started really studying with much more earnestness ….. just the Bible to see if I would come to the same conclusions as the ‘ ORGANIZATION ‘ ; mostly I did , but not all things , I made hand written notations of more than 500 scriptures against the Trinity Doctrine ( but it wasn’t from the Watchtower ) , and then another study of more than 500 hand written scripture notations about the 7th Day Sabbath that was severely against the teaching by Jehovah Witnesses . So although I am studying much more and believe still mostly like Jw’s I am treated as an Apostate . Although my life is more pure I am treated like the Devil himself . I have come to find a few more things that just don’t add up, and just can’t believe you can’t at all have any kind of reasonable discussion with any Jehovah Witness about these things because they are trained to just look at certain scriptures and justify twisting other scriptures just as it is explained in the Watchtower they will explain it away just the way a parrot repeats words that it hears . What does it say in scripture about women speaking in the Congregation , even though the language found in scripture is some of the most straight forward simple language that you will find in scripture , Jw’s will just say the society looks at it this way…. so it’s ok . really ?

I agree with you on the point of this scripture it is telling us that not all are exactly connected in the same way, like the “disciples of John” ( the baptizer ) , John asked them to go and speak to Yahshua in regards to who He really was ; evidently John had somewhat gotten disconnected from the other disciples in some way ; and the people with him were referred to as the disciples of John . Also Isaiah speaks of more than one mountain and that one mountain that is boastful and full of pride gets destroyed .

Just because you disagree with something that is taught at the kingdom hall or watchtower doctrine does not make you an apostate. For example I disagree with the small amount of singing and no band at the hall I disagree with turning in proof of how much I went preaching. Now that doesn’t make me an apostate. But if I openly complained at the kingdom hall. I would soon get disfellowshiped for it. An apostate is someone that says Jesus is not gods son.nor the saviour. Or some person that sets out to prove that everything is all wrong with you believing in jehovah and Jesus in the congregation. That’s an apostate. Politely show him the door or else he will surely preach that you expelled him rudely!

You took the words out of my mouth. I love to sing and I wish we could praise Jehovah with a live band and be open to all kinds of songs and not only ones approved by the Governing Body. I never liked reporting my time even though I truly witnessed to people. Now I am inactive, sort of lost looking in the internet for some light but really not finding much. It is very lonely outhere….

I agree with arimatthewdavies. I never liked reporting the time even when I was pioneering and I thought the publisher’s card was a way of keeping tract of how “spiritual” you were since the more hours the more “spiritual” you should be. I would have loved to sing live at the KH with a band and to include other songs that wonderful but not in the GB repertoire. All we needed was a little updating and change. But that will be considered also apostasy. Now I am inactive, looking for answers in the net but there is so much that doesnt make sense either. I trust that God will help me as I search. In the mean time…is pretty lonely outhere.

HI Maria. Have you read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz yet? That will help you a lot. Ray was part of the Governing Body for 9 years and he had an inside view of the Society and it took him a while to realize it, but God has nothing to do with Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Go on Youtube videos and read, read, read. There is no way that any God could be backing the Watchtower with all their lies and cover ups of the real history.

The love at the Kingdom Hall, is conditional. It feels lonely, leaving all those so-called friends, but having friends like that, is not having real friends anyway.

The people in the “world” aren’t wicked, like the Watchtower says it is. It was just a paranoid trick to keep us in and afraid of making friends outside the organization.

I have been inactive for about 7 months now and at first I was scared Jehovah would kill me at Armageddon but now I am feeling freed from being in an organization that a depressing straight jacket and I was a JW for 50 years.

I’d rather be out here alone, than going to the Kingdom Hall, just to keep those fake friends. Coming to JW survey, helps because we can comment about our experiences and doubts and see that we aren’t alone. Probably 95% of all Witnesses have doubts but are all afraid to even speak up for fear of being disfellowshipped, just as you said.

Nobody should be afraid to test out their religion and nobody should ever be afraid to express their opinions on what 7 very imperfect and human men have to say about their interpretation of what the Bible means.

We all have a brain in our head and the Bible isn’t an algebra textbook but was written for the common man in the common language. We don’t need them to tell us what it says. We can see it for ourselves.

The Governing Body is no different than the Catholic Church was all those years, insisting on their sermons being in Latin. They wanted it in Latin so that the common man would think that the priests had some “inside” knowledge from God. All that adulation came to an end when the sermons went to English. The same holds true for the Governing Body. They are no different or smarter than the average Witness. The whole thing is a farce and you can be glad you got out when you did and please don’t ever look back.

As a former regular pioneer, at a time when 100 hrs was the monthly requirement (have I dated myself?), I totally agree with you.

In addition to being a tool to measure so-called “spirituality” (how banal & superfluous!), the monthly service report also provided the foundation for the ‘bean counters’ at the B-Org to produce its annual Worldwide Publisher Report, as its bragging rights, enabling them to claim fulfillment of “this good news shall be preached in all the inhabited earth…..”! And yet, they haven’t scratched the surface, with entire nations without any JW presence.

That it takes, on average, in the US, 7500 hrs of preaching/teaching to create one single convert escapes them totally and, having no financial responsibility in this effort, makes the publisher’s own personal expenditures of time, costs involving vehicle maintenance, fuel etc…. irrelevant to the B-Org. They’re not financially responsible for any of it so…. carry on you slaves!!

Sorry, but after 23+ years of service to this apostate religion, I am somewhat angry at myself for having been duped for that many years.

What a great post! I especially loved your comment that the Org was a “depressing straight jacket”. That is so true and have never thought of it in those terms. With your permission, I shall use that expression in the future. Again, thank you for sharing!

@Brice. Thank you for saying that and I am also somewhat angry at myself for letting myself be duped for 50 years of my life.

One thing we can console ourselves though, is that the Watchtower is the best of the best when it comes to mind control. If only we would have had the internet 50 years ago so we could have known then what we know now.

All we can do now, is try out best to inform anyone and everyone we can so they don’t waste their lives like we did. Hopefully, with the help of the internet and all the good books out there, we will see the end of this ugly, life-destroying cult in our lifetime.

If the pedophilia/child abuse lawsuits continue to pile up, as more and more previously abused ex-JWs have filed, collectively, this may prove to be the death-knell for the arrogant, pompous, the “King Has no Clothes” WT Society. The financial penalties issued by the courts may do them in. They will have deserved it, in more ways than one!

Stay strong, there is an entire community out engaged in both support for those that have ‘awakened” as well as those participating in some type of activism to bring down this apostate B-Org.

Be well… live, love and laugh as often as you can!!! The B-Org’s reach can only go so far….

I am sorry Cedars but I am going to have to call Bogus Sophistry on your claim that merely expressing doubt on some teaching or other is going to get you expelled if that was the case I would have been expelled years ago.
Conscienceless hypocrytes like you depend on people being to lazy to do their research so you can engage in your personal agenda against the brothers.
I sincerely hope no brothers who stumbled on to this are taken in by your lies.You have doubts go to the elders NOBODY is going to disfellowship you.

“Keep in mind that to be disfellowshipped, an apostate does not have to be a promoter of apostate views. As mentioned in paragraph two, page 17 of the August 1, 1980, Watchtower, “The word ‘apostasy’ comes from a Greek term that means ‘a standing away from,’ ‘a falling away, defection,’ ‘rebellion, abandonment. Therefore, if a baptized Christian abandons the teachings of Jehovah, as presented by the faithful and discreet slave, and persists in believing other doctrine despite Scriptural reproof, then he is apostatizing. Extended kindly efforts should be put forth to readjust his thinking. However, if after such extended efforts have been put forth to readjust his thinking, he continues to believe his apostate ideas and rejects what he has been provided through the slave class, then appropriate judicial action should be taken.”

Allen, you have been shown the letter that was sent, and that shows the official position of the society. Some individual elders may well not take the letter seriously, but we are talking about Watchtower policy here. Also if it became widely known that a witness does not agree with some main doctrines of the society, they would most certainly be spoken to, and at the very least, lose any good standing they may have had in the congregation.